Orrington couple spin together in Trek Across Maine

ORRINGTON - The wheels are always turning at the Winslow home in Orrington. Terri Winslow and her husband Doug have been bicycling in the Trek Across Maine since 2009, and in order to stay race ready they ride as often as they can, even peddling in their living room during the cold Maine winters.

"I ride all winter long on my trainer," Winslow said. "And I try to do 300 miles on the road before the Trek, which takes three solid months of training."

More than 2,000 cyclists participated in this past weekend's event, which started at the Sunday River Ski Resort in Newry and ended in Belfast. The three-day Trek Across Maine is the single largest fundraiser for the American Lung Association of the Northeast which is one of the reason's Winslow wanted to get involved.

"The American Lung Association is a great organization and I love the work they do," she explained. "We're also avid bikers and just enjoy biking with other crazy biking people."

If cycling the 180-mile route wasn't challenging enough, Winslow does so while monitoring and managing asthma.

"I do have asthma, and I struggled with it last year, but conditionally I felt really good this year," she said.

Peddling from town to town with her team of family and friends is also a great way to relieve stress Winslow said.

"I have a pretty stressful job. When you're out there, you have to pay attention to the traffic and the road. It puts you in a place where you can't focus on your worries, which is nice."

Each Trek Across Maine participant must raise a minimum of $500 to take part in the event. A total of $1.8 million was raised in 2012 and this year's goal was to hit $2 million. According to the Trek Across Maine web site, 90 percent of the funds collected stay in the local community, while the remainder supports nationwide education and research.

"I plan on doing this event as long as I am able to," Winslow said. "I want to be an advocate for my family, all of my children and myself who struggle with asthma and my aunt who passed away from respiratory illness."